Barcelona

What an amazing three days in port!! It’s my first three days in continental Europe!

We started our adventures in Lisbon, Portugal. It was a Sunday, so almost everything was closed down.. So we just wandered around the city. I’ve been told how amazing the Portuguese Tarts are, so I had one of those (and maybe more later on in the day..) They were so good!! It was so different to be in such an old city. Cramped winding streets and alleys, all built up on a hill, leading up to a castle. Cathedrals dotting the skyline. It was so cool!! Overall, a fairly uneventful day. The sail away from Lisbon was awesome. We passed by a few monuments and even under Lisbon’s version of the Golden Gate Bridge. Here’s some pictures from my random walking.

The Monument of Exploration (for Columbus)

The next day we awoke in Cadiz, Spain! I immediately headed to the beach. We spent most of our day at my first European beach. It was so nice!! The sand was perfect, the waves were awesome.. but the water was FREEZING. It should warm up later in the summer.. it’s still pretty early in the season. After a few hours of sun and sand, we headed to find some tapas for lunch. Found a great place with some awesome calamari across from the main cathedral of Cadiz. Then we went inside!! The Cathedral was AMAZING. So cool to see something SO old and SO huge - especially the creepy crypt underneath!! Afterwards, we just did some wandering around and made our way back to the ship. 

The Cathedral:

The Cathedral's Crypt:

And on the third day: Málaga, Spain!! Málaga was the best port I’ve been to yet!! We had no idea what to do (not really craving another day at the beach..), so we searched on google: “Things to do in Malaga” and what should pop up first? A bicycle tour. Not really knowing what else to do, we set out! First I had an AMAZING breakfast at the cutest cafe yet.. amazing cafe con leche, homemade jam on a toasted croissant. so good! we finally found the bicycle tour just in time for the tour to start at 10am. The tour guide, originally from the UK, was a great woman who knew SO much about the city! Apparently, just one couple had made a reservation, so she was happy to welcome us along! As it turned out, the couple didn’t show up. We got a private four and a half hour tour of Málaga!!! It was insane. We saw EVERYTHING. El Teatro Romano, Catedral de Málaga, Bullfighting Arena, the beach, Churro Alley, Picasso’s birthplace, the church where he was baptized, the oldest bar in Málaga.. Literally everything!! We stopped twice for drinks.. I tasted the Málaga dry wine they’re famous for at the oldest bar.. Apparently it’s packed at 9am with people getting their morning glass of wine. The sweet wine was really sweet - but the dry was definitely more a liqueur than a wine. And our tour guide knew everything. At first I thought it would be a cute tour, but I wasn’t sure how much knowledge she’d have. Every fountain, square, building, church, etc. she knew when it was built and by who, when it was redone and by who, when things were destroyed, the whole city’s history, everything!! The city was amazing, and we learned SO much. The tour lasted almost five hours, and we still had time to get some lunch after. Then we ran straight back to the ship and told everyone they have to do this tour when we hit up Málaga again in October.

With Picasso outside his birthplace (second floor of the apartment building) and the church where he was baptized.

La Manquita

Málaga's Oldest Bar (and our tour guide):

After one last sea day, we’ve made it to Barcelona!! The Transatlantic crossing was definitely a success. All three shows went really well. I’m so happy to finally be here in Europe. THIS is why I’m here on this ship - to see the world. It’s so exciting to be here experiencing new places and things. Fortunately, I’m finished with the ports I’ll only be going to once. So I won’t have to cram everything into just one day. I can take my time and really explore different parts of these cities. I’ve already had many run-ins with the language and culture barrier, but I’m learning!! I’m so thankful for the little Spanish I do know, and definitely plan on hitting up my Rosetta Stone a LOT more often to get better at it. I figure even though we’re not spending too much time in Spain (mostly Italy), one really good foreign language is better than none. And Spanish and Italian are similar enough where hopefully I’ll be able to get by.... Wish me luck!!

Overall, though, I miss everyone from home. A lot. I’m excited for the new experiences, but I’m starting to miss the familiarity of home. I hope everyone out there is well and happy. I miss you all!! Definitely feel free to email/call me all the time!! I’ll respond when I can.